Chapter Text
“A’aschhHUUH!” 10. “H’SCHUUUH!” 11. “T’TCHUUHHh!” 12.
“Bless you, love.” Edgeworth handed Phoenix another tissue. The box was nearly empty at this point. “What’s got you like this lately?”
“Oh. It’s dorbal for be.” Phoenix blew his nose as hard as he could, ignoring his boyfriend’s discomfort at the shamelessness of him doing so. “Gets like this every Fall. Cold season, and all that, I guess.”
Phoenix, along with his newly adopted daughter, had been staying at Edgeworth’s home since Phoenix’s disbarment proved to put a strain on his ability to pay rent for his apartment, which proved too small for a family of two anyway. It came to no surprise that with this new arrangement, Edgeworth would be learning a lot about the now former lawyer, admittedly more than he ever took the time to get to know him during his law career.
“Wright,” an old habit of his slipped his tongue, Edgeworth never quite dropped the formalities since he and Phoenix began dating, but at least the man he loved found it endearing, “I don’t know if you were aware, but colds hardly come with puffy, streaming eyes like yours are right now.”
“Wha? Is it something more serious, then?”
“Has it ever dawned on you that it might be seasonal allergies?” Edgeworth pulled his smartphone from his pocket, tapping once or twice on the touch screen, a far more sophisticated device than Phoenix’s relic of a Nokia he still held onto. “It started getting this bad when you decided you’d rake the leaves in my yard, yes?”
“Yeah, but aren’t seasonal allergies for Spring? Not Fall.”
“For me, maybe, but there are still plenty of allergens out there this time of year.” The serious-faced prosecutor flashed an Allergy Tracking app on his phone, not at all acknowledging the notification for a Steel Samurai app gacha event that popped up just before he did so. “Particularly, mold that lives in leaf piles. There are a lot of spores out this time of year. You sent them flying even more by disturbing them while you raked the leaves.”
“That’s disgusting!” Phoenix exclaimed, not at all finding any irony in him blowing his nose again in a crumpled tissue from his hoodie pocket immediately after.
“What it’s doing to you is hardly the Mona Lisa either, love.” Edgeworth kissed his boyfriend’s nose before he got up off the sofa, amused by the resulting grim expression.
“Aa’hhTTSSCHUUUH!!!” 13, now, was it? “Hey! That’s no fair.”
“Consider it a taste of your own medicine.” As he spoke of figurative medicine, Edgeworth poured a glass of water to accompany a large antihistamine pill. “Take this. It should clear your system right up for the rest of the day.”
Phoenix was hesitant to take the pill from his hand.
“That thing is huge!” He objected.
“But it’s strong. Just below prescription grade. You’ll get used to it.”
Phoenix frowned, but took the pill without making a fuss. He had a new respect, almost an admiration, for the man’s ability to manage throughout the Spring. He made a mental note to tease his boyfriend a little less next year.
Just a little.
~fin~